Mass mailing, or bulk mailing, has become one of the basic forms of advertising products and services. A substantial percentage of the mail handled by the U.S. postal service consists of advertisements, form letters and brochures that are sent out by the thousands, and sometimes by the millions. In exchange for the large volume of business, the postal service mails these bulk mail items at a lower rate thereby making bulk mail advertising campaigns a cost efficient way to advertise goods and services.
In order to justify the lower postage rates charged to bulk mail customers and to enable the postal service to earn a profit on bulk mailing, the postal service requires bulk mail to be provided to them in a sorted and organized fashion. To accomplish this objective, sorted bulk mail is conventionally supplied to the postal service in open-top trays normally fabricated from plastic or polyethylene.
The sorted bulk mail is placed into the trays and an elastic strap is wound around the tray lengthwise to prevent the sorted bulk mail from falling out and further to satisfy a postal requirement that the bulk mail be secured in the trays. The trays are then placed into elongated sleeves. The sleeves are placed on pallets and the postal service requires the sleeves to be secured the pallets. The common procedure is to employ shrink wrap to secure the trays to the pallets.
The above procedure is inefficient for a number of reasons. First, it is awkward, inconvenient and expensive to require both trays and sleeves. Further, it is also inefficient to place an elastic strap around the tray. A far better system would provide a single container in place of the tray, sleeve and strap. Finally, thousands of pounds of plastic are wasted each year by needlessly shrink wrapping the sleeves with trays onto the pallets prior to shipment and handling.
Thus, there is a need for an improved single container for the handling and shipment of bulk mail and a shipment system that can be reused thereby eliminating the need for shrink wrap. The present invention satisfies these needs.